Benefits keep rolling in

     I took my blood pressure at home during lunch yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. The machine said 125/70 with a resting heart rate of 75 bpm. The last one I took was before the challenge and it said 134/90 with a resting heart rate of 93 bpm (and that was after doing some breathing exercises).

Week 6 weigh-in

     Yesterday I weighed in and was happily back to where I was the previous week.  I say happily, because everyone knows that it is difficult to maintain, much less lose weight during a holiday weekend.  I was back down 1.5 pounds and hit the workout equipment with renewed vigor.

     Also as an added bonus, my wife dug some old t-shirts out of the closet and had me try them on.  Before the competition, I was routinely wearing XXL t-shirts and they were a bit snug.  The t-shirt I am wearing at the moment is an XL and it has some room in it (it fits correctly without being snug).  

     On the fitness side, when I started the competition, I got on the bike and could handle a resistance level of 4 and pedal 70-80 rpms for 15 minutes and my heart rate was in the 150s after just a few minutes.  This morning I did 30 minutes at a resistance level of a 9, 70-80 rpms and my heart rate was staying steady in the mid 140s.  When I finished the bike, I got on the treadmill for 30 more minutes at a 3.0 with 4.0 incline.  

     Another thing I notice is that my heart rate is coming down much faster now when I end my workout.

Visit to a sponsor 5.0 - Core Pilates

     In a remote office above all the hustle and bustle that is Carrboro on a Saturday morning, I got a very unexpected great workout.  I thought Pilates was all about mats and exercise balls.  Boy was I wrong!  This may be insulting to anyone who has done Pilates, but it is not meant that way at all.  The best way I could describe it to someone who has never seen it before is this:  A full body workout on an apparatus that uses spring resistance and your own body weight that is highly adjustable for various exercises and positions.  (Sort of like the total gym - endorsed by Chuck Norris - but much more sturdy, solid and versatile).  See picture below.
     Once I found the place... Carolina Core Pilates ....up above Panzanella on the far end of the Harris Teeter parking lot - I was late, I found a teammate already in her workout.  They have 4 machines available for group sessions if you want to work out with friends, but you need to schedule your sessions.  Our instructor, Rebecca, was very knowledgeable and friendly and gave us a great workout.
     I thought it was going to be an instructional session where I was introduced to the various Pilates equipment.  This was much more hands on so to speak.  We got a full body workout, but it wasn't very stressful on the body.  Very low impact (virtually none) and easy on the joints.  If you like a more intimate setting than a big gym, lots of personal attention, and a workout you can do no matter what your skill or fitness level, this is the place for you.  The machines can be adjusted to make the exercise more or less difficult.

Visit to a sponsor 4.0 - Yoga

     Last Tuesday night I went with a few of my teammates (Thanks for showing up!) to Franklin Street Yoga.  As you can imagine, to say that I was out of my element would be an understatement.  Thankfully, one of our teammates sent us a "what to expect" document from their website.  First of all, it was hot.  If all I had done was sat in the room for an hour, I would have sweat.  That is not even close to all we did.

     The studio is located on the back side of the University Square complex.  Thankfully I had been to the complex before and I knew that there were more shops around back.  I arrived as a prior class was leaving, so there wasn't any spots available in front of the studio.  The reception area was very small compared to the studio.  There was a small area of cubby holes to leave your personal belongings (and shoes as I found out when I tried to enter the studio wearing my tennis shoes).   The instructor stopped me and asked me to take off my shoes and directed me to the mats, blocks and straps that were available to people who didn't bring their own.  I had brought water and a towel (thanks to Joyce's email).

     After a few minutes, the instructor came in and turned on some music while people were filtering in.  Everyone who came in began by lining up their mats with the taped spots on the floor, sitting down and stretching or meditating.  Not knowing exactly what I should be doing, I just sat on my mat.  My teammates showed up after class started, so I didn't even see them until at one point the instructor told us to turn to one side and I noticed that one of them had placed a mat beside mine and another person was toward the back of the room.  It really helps to have a familiar presence when you are in uncomfortable surroundings.  Not to say that the studio was threatening in any way, but it was not the sort of place you'd usually find me.

     This class was a Vinyasa Foundation class - if you are familiar with yoga.  Here is the description from the website: 

     "These classes are taught at slower pace and focus on building awareness. A steady and informative class that combines movement, breath, and meditation to foster flexibility, relaxation, and self-awareness. Special attention and modifications are offered to each student while emphasizing alignment and attention to breath."

    The instructor told us if we couldn't do something or felt pain then we should go back to "child's pose".  I did that a lot since many of the poses were either difficult, extremely tiring or actually caused me a bit of pain.  At one point, the instructor came over and put some blocks under my hip to support me while I did one particular pose.  I had no idea that yoga would be so hard.  Some of the transitions (for example from "Downward Dog" to "Warrior") and back multiple times were very tiring because you go from laying to standing and back very slowly and controlled.

   The next day I was very sore.  I think I had overstretched some muscles.  This didn't feel like a workout sore, this felt more serious.  It was a few days before I was back to normal.  I noticed this was a level 1 class and that there was a beginner class that actually teaches you the poses.  I think this is where I should have started.

   One of the things about the studio I didn't mention was that there is a lotus flower painted on one wall and frosted glass windows on the opposite wall.  There is a column in the middle of the room with various quotations written on it.  Most of them are of a spiritual nature.  The talk about things regarding peace and "the now".  One in particular caught my attention and forgive me if I don't get it perfectly right.  "Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured." ~B.K.S. Iyengar.  I don't know if I agree, but it was a good parting sentiment.

Weigh-in week 5

     No fanfare this week.  I was amazed at the effect that this week's weigh in had on me psychologically.  I was struggling all week with water weight.  I had huge swings in weight all week.  One day up 3 pounds, the next day down 1.  When I weighed in, I was on the up swing.  I was up 1.5 pounds.   It made me question why I was dragging myself out of bed at 4:30am every morning.  My team encouraged me to not let it get me down and my wife encouraged me by pointing out all the benefits I've gained thus far.
     Last week someone at work asked me if I had been losing weight!  I had the biggest grin on my face when I answered.  Yesterday I was spending time with my daughter.  She was in a jump toy that suspends from a door frame.  She grabbed a laundry basket that was propped up on its side tall wise and dumped it over.   I shifted my weight to one leg and picked my opposite foot up to "catch" it.  (Think soccer drills).  I did this to keep the laundry basket from slamming loudly onto the wooden floor.  Well my daughter thought that me slowly lowering it to the floor was hilarious.  She giggled, so I lifted it back up.  We did this a few more times and then I switched legs.  I used to play soccer, so this was a common ball trapping drill.  I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO IT FOR YEARS!  My balance is improving - though last night when I went to yoga, that was seriously in doubt (but that is a story for another post).
     The point is that I'm seeing benefits in a lot of other areas besides just weight loss.  So my plan is to watch the sodium, increase the water intake and make sure I'm eating the right number of calories.  I know from weight watchers that too many or too few calories will cause weight gain.  Obviously we all know that too many will cause gains, but the crazy thing about too few - and this is the same with water - if your body thinks you are depriving it, it will go into starvation mode and store water/fat.

 

Visit to a sponsor 3.0

     There is a lot to catch up on since I last blogged, so I'll break it into multiple posts.  Friday, May 18, I went to Massage Envy - (I chose the Southpoint location) and got a "sports" massage.  From what I understand, it is between a relaxing massage and a deep tissue.  My therapist was named John.  He was very professional.  At first I felt a little weird having a dude rub my feet with oil (he started there - I asked him to work on my lower body since that is where I've been having all my issues).  That feeling went away when he started really working on me.  He found some really sore parts that weren't so bad after the session. 
     Of course, one session isn't going to fix all that is ailing me.  My wife and I are talking about a regular massage routine.  I didn't really notice a difference when I got off the table (hard to explain how I felt ... the muscles were a little sore, but very loose), but when I went for a walk on Saturday, I could tell that I had loosened up a bit.
      That lasted all of 3 days and now I'm just as tight as I was before.  John gave me some stretching tips.  He said that my soleus was very tight as well as the muscle on my shin.  He said if I flexed my foot, did circles and wrote the alphabet with it, it should loosen them up.  He also told me to drink water after our session to flush the toxins that were released from my muscles.  My wife reinforced this and said that any time she had been to a massage therapist and didn't drink water afterwards, she felt cruddy.

Boot Camp 2.0

     Yesterday Paula scheduled another boot camp for us.  This one was more one on one since only two people showed up.  Joyce and I got a great workout and a stretching session at the end.  There was one exercise that really got me.  We used these slider/glider disks with our hands on the floor in a modified pushup stance (knees on a yoga mat) and slid our hands out wide and then back together.  I had just done a chest/back weight workout the day before, so this was killer.  Then as if that wasn't enough, we did a modification where one hand stayed stationary while the other slid diagonal up in front of your head and then alternate with the other hand.  Of course we also did pushups and situps.  Needless to say, I won't be doing any more chest exercises until next week.
     This pattern of doing something different on Tuesdays is interesting to me.  (Jazzercise last week, boot camp this week).  I may see if I can get my team to go over to Franklin Street Yoga next Tuesday - if they have anything going on that day.  I have been doing Chest/Back on Mondays, Something different on Tuesdays, Legs on Wednesdays, Arms/Shoulders on Thursdays and then extended Cardio on Fridays.  (Cardio every day along with stretching).
     Speaking of stretching, there is an alternate method of loosening up your muscle that I hadn't heard of before this program - rolling.  You can use a foam roller (Walmart, Target, Dick's, etc).  A tennis ball (to get oddly shaped areas) or my favorite, a kitchen rolling pin.  I use it to do my calf muscles, my quads and my hamstrings.  It is great because you can do it while watching television and you can apply as much pressure as you can stand.  I don't really understand all the science behind it yet, but I guess it works by relaxing the facia ?? Maybe someone with more technical knowledge can comment on this.  All I know is that yesterday my legs felt like they were filled with lead and then I rolled them and I felt great!

Week 4 Weigh-in and Wild Kingdom

     Monday calls.  This morning I was excited to get in the gym, but for whatever reason it was hard to do my cardio.  I pushed through it and eventually things become easier.  After the bike (my calf is still sore), I did chest and back weight training.  Then I asked Nollie to weigh me in.  Down 2.5 pounds.... woot!
 
















     On my way to the gym this morning I saw 2 deer and 3 rabbits.  The other day I saw a deer near the Wellness Center.  This past weekend I saw 3 turkeys and a fox.  There certainly isn't a lack of wildlife around here if you open up your eyes to see it!

My Anthem

     SPOILER: If you are offended by talk about religion, skip this post.
     If you are like me, you like to listen to music while doing just about anything.   Yesterday morning, I was listening to some Christian music that I find helps wake me up for those early morning workouts, is lively enough to keep my RPMs up on the bike and also relaxes me because of the positive message.
     Most of you don't know me apart from the Challenge or this blog, so I'll go into a bit of detail here.  I dropped out of college at the University of NH (near where I grew up) after my first year.  I spent a year or so trying to "find" myself.  I started going to church and then decided to go back to school.  I decided to go to a bible school in Texas that a member of our church had attended.  A few years later, I met my wife and several years later we moved to North Carolina.  I finished the college degree I had started many years ago online and got a job locally.  I have slowly been learning how to finish what I started and become all that I believe God wants me to be.  Now I am in the midst of applying that same philosophy to my health.
     I believe that God heals us, but I also believe that He has given doctors, and other health professionals (ie - trainers) wisdom that we should draw on to do our part in our own health.  There is a scripture that some people might use as a case against working out.  "Bodily exercise profits little..." 1Ti4:8.  I would say to those people that it still profits! The author is talking about some things being more important than others.  Not that those things don't have any value.  The scripture that I think is more appropriate, though in context it refers to doing good to others, is James 2:17 "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."   There is a part for all of us to play in our own faith.  I can't expect to go on eating what I want and not exercising and expect that by God's grace I will live a healthy, long life.
     Ok enough preachy stuff.  On to news.  Paula gets back today.. hope your race went well!  My calf is doing much better after two days of wrapping and icing it.  It still has twinges of pain when I walk down the stairs and come down hard on that leg, but otherwise, it is good.  I saw Stephanie in the gym this morning and we found out why she hasn't been joining all the rest of the team or communicating with us.  We had her email address wrong as well.  (We had Joyce's wrong for a while too).  Many apologies Stephanie!
    So back to the anthem... having said all the preachy stuff at the top, the song that keeps motivating me is by Chris Tomlin on his "Arriving" album called "The Way I Was Made" (You'll have to click on the album down below and the song in the list to hear it).

Jazzercise - visit to a sponsor the sequel

     A co-worker told me that she wouldn't go to a Jazzercise facility because it is old.  What she meant is that it isn't the current fitness fad.  That may be true, I remember doing Jazzercise with my Mom to a VCR tape in the 80's.  But what is also true is that it kicked my butt then and it still does.  It is a great workout!  Most of my teammates decided to meet at the Jazzercise facility that is ironically located around the corner from a Bagel shop on Weaver Dairy Road.  Early this morning we showed up at the first class of the day (Tuesdays and Thursdays).
     There was plenty of room for us there.  I guess there aren't that many people that want to get up so early for such an intense workout.  Our trainer Paula is still out of town.  We were led this morning by the Jazzercise instructor who is also named Paula.  We started out with a warm-up, then transitioned to an intense workout, and then a cool down.  After that we did some strength training and then some stretching.  It was just as complete a workout as the boot camp workout a week ago.  Thank you to Ann for inviting us, Paula for instructing us and the regulars who made us feel welcome.
     One of the regulars took our picture with Paula and one of the opposing team's spies.  (Just kidding, she is a friend of one of our teammates and we've sort of adopted her into our team because she is at most of our workouts).

From Left to Right: Diane, Me, Monique, Paula (the instructor), Joyce and Natalie (the spy :) ).
Missing: Lorraine,  Heather, Stephanie.

Progress:  Today I realized another thing that is different.  I sat in the middle of the floor with my kids and played for about 5 minutes without any back support.  Before the contest, I would not have been able to do that.  I would have either leaned up against the wall or laid down on the floor to alleviate the pressure on my back.  My core is a far cry from well developed, but it is getting stronger.
Bad news:  I think I pulled a muscle in my calf.  I believe I might have done it on Saturday at the party (trying to run after someone) or Sunday (the really hard bike ride around the neighborhood).  I might have aggravated it and made it worse this morning at Jazzercise.  During one of the sessions where we were sidestepping and then hopping forward, I felt a slight pop and then some pretty intense pain.  I kept moving and just did the "light" intensity version of the exercises.  Later, I had trouble just walking without pain.  I am icing my calf, wrapping it and elevating it.  We'll see how it feels tomorrow.  I know they say, "No pain, no gain" but this isn't what they were talking about.  I need to make sure I do my stretches more often.

Week Three Weigh In

     It's Monday morning again and I REALLY don't want to go to the gym.  But I drag myself out of bed at O dark-thirty (as some of my friends used to say).  There are a few reasons I don't want to go to the gym this morning.  1.  It is Monday and I'd rather sleep.  2.  I did some bad things this weekend and I don't know if what I did in the gym is going to be good enough to make up for it.
     My son turned 1 a few days ago and this weekend we had a party.  I ate a few too many pieces of fried chicken and way too much cake.  I hit my local gym Triangle Sportsplex instead of the Wellness Center on Saturday night because it is a pretty good drive from my house.  I did 30 minutes of cardio on the bike.  Last night I did 15 minutes of actual bike riding in my neighborhood.  The neighbors could probably hear my rusty brakes coming a few miles away.  The actual bike was so much harder than the stationary bike in the gym.  It did the trick though, because I was down a pound on the scale this morning when I weighed in!  I was so worried that I threw a whole weeks worth of workout down the drain in one day.  It is amazing how long it takes to get the pounds off and how quickly they can be put back on. 
     I did chest and back on the free motion machines this morning as well as 30 minutes on the bike.  My feet/ankles are still a little sore/swollen, so I'm trying to take it easy on them.  I tried an ice bath for my foot on Friday night.  It did a lot to bring down the swelling, but I am a big wimp when it comes to ice.
     I am still waiting for a response via email, but I think a bunch of us may be heading over to Jazzercise tomorrow and/or Thursday morning.
      

Staff and Weights and Shoes, Oh My!

     There is a lot to report in this post.  Staff - I want to just put in a plug for the UNC Wellness Center at Meadowmont.    Not only are they dedicated and hard working, but they are friendly and extremely knowledgeable.  Yesterday, I met with Liz, one of the staff - a licensed nutritionist.  I brought a copy of our family's menu.  And please let me digress for one moment to tell you what a wonderful wife I have.  Not only does she do an excellent job of taking care of our children by playing with them, nurturing them, bringing them to doctors' and therapists' appointments, feeding them and all that goes along with that  (One is 2 years old and one is a one year old) but she also has been extremely supportive of my/our new lifestyle.  We came up with a 4 week rotating menu.  It also includes a list of "special items" that we select from for having on Saturdays.  Here is a link to a copy of our menu:  4 Week Rotating Menu on MSN skydrive
     I went over our menu with Liz and she was very pleased that we had items like fish and chicken fairly often.  I discussed my daily eating regimen with her including snacks.  She suggested that when I have my mid-morning and afternoon snacks, that I balance out the carbohydrates with a protein (some cheese, peanut butter or nuts).  She also suggested adding some vegetables to my standard lunch (I usually have a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat with mustard and a few whole grain wheat thin crackers).  Liz discussed portion sizes at dinner and emphasized the importance of having half the plate be vegetables, one quarter whole grain carbs and one quarter lean protein.  (And using a smaller plate, not a giant one like at some food establishments).
     Weights - This morning was the first morning that our team's trainer, Paula, was out of town.  She is going to be racing, GO PAULA!  She left us in good hands.  Many of the staff have offered to work with us in Paula's absence.  A few of us on the Green team like to come in to work out very early in the morning (well maybe not like to, but it is more convenient for our busy schedules).  As a result, we probably won't be working out with them.  There are a few of the morning staff that I'd like to mention.  Nollie opens a few days a week and she is a great trainer and Whitby!  Whitby was my trainer this morning (who I openly apologized to for thinking his name was "Wimpy"...I swear that's what I heard someone say his name was).  He gave me a tour of the Free Motion equipment.  Paula called it a "Free motion, full body workout."  I only did cardio  yesterday and I'll do the same tomorrow because usually you don't work out the upper and lower body on the same day and you don't work the same muscle groups on consecutive days so they can rest.  Whitby explained proper technique for each machine and let me know when there was a variation for each machine.  He told me that there was one machine in each muscle group that he would do first because they use more than one muscle in the group and the other machines isolate one muscle at a time.  If you work the individual muscles, they tire and when it comes time to use them all together, you don't get as much benefit from that machine.  One is the free motion squat machine (lower body - quads, hamstrings and calves) and the other is the free motion shoulder press (upper body - biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, core).  Maybe it doesn't sound like that shoulder press should use all those muscles, but if you lean forward and don't use the back rest and follow proper technique, it SURE does.  Monday I'll do chest, back, arms and shoulders and then Tuesday, I may be getting my directions from Nollie.
     Shoes - If you've been following the blog, you may have noticed my comments about ankle and foot pain.  Paula had noticed that I was turning out my ankles while walking on the treadmill.  I also have tight calves and hamstrings (and Paula also says hip flexors).  Some of this tightness is due to sitting all day.  Some is due to genetics, but some is also due to having to correct for my ankles.  A friend at work who used to work at Fleet Feet, told me that people should get new shoes every 500 miles.  When you add all this to the fact that my wife took a picture of me standing still and my ankles were very turned out and my feet were getting more sore,

I went out and talked to someone at the New Balance store.  The sales associate sold me a pair of stability cross-trainers (there is a roll bar in the side that helps prevent your ankles from turning out).  The minute I put my foot in the shoes, 90% of the pain in my foot went away.  I was told to try the shoes for a few days and if I had any problems, come back and they'd see about giving me some inserts for them.  So far, so good. 

 

     I'm also icing my feet using a trick my wife learned - freeze a bottle of water and roll it under your feet.  It works well.